Hello friends (and family)!

 GOOD NEWS!!

 I am very excited (and tired) as I write this prayer update. We have been sitting and waiting, and waiting and sitting, and sit… well, you get the idea. Now, I think we are making up for some of that time of doing seemingly nothing. The best way to explain it is with the picture of a pregnancy (not that I have ever been). All of the time of “what color should we paint the baby’s room” stuff is over. The water is about to break, and we are scrambling for the car keys!

 In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we have moved beyond the house obstacle. You might be wondering how this all happened so fast; you might not. Either way, I am going to tell you, so sit down and listen up! Two weeks ago, we piled in the car and took a weekend trip to Leesburg, VA to visit friends and supporters there, and to spend a day taking in some sights in Washington DC. While spending time in discussion with numerous people there, we began to feel that we should possibly take another stab at listing our house to rent, since the real estate market is doing so poorly, and there is no obvious end in sight. To make a long story a little shorter, we did exactly that, and Danielle put a listing up on Craigslist a week ago Saturday.

 From Saturday to Wednesday, we had about a dozen responses from interested people, and 3 appointments set up for showings this weekend (Thursday through yesterday). One couple that was particularly interested had a dilemma to overcome: they live in Texas. The husband is from this area, and his brother was going to come and look at the house on Saturday for them. They live on the Gulf coast, where hurricane Ike struck, and they want out. They want to move up here to be with his family, and they need a larger home in the country where there is room for their large dogs and two boys.

 This family has been looking for a house to rent long-term (until they can get a mortgage) for the past few months, but have found nothing that meets their needs. Enter: our ad. Their plan was to move up here in a U-haul and live in a motel until they could find a home. After seeing pictures of the inside of the house and a floor plan that I drew up, they wanted to give us a deposit so that no one else could get the house out from under them. So, they wired us the $950 security deposit Thursday morning (tried to do it that night, but had to wait for the bank to open in the morning!)

 Now comes the scary part. They want to move in by April 1st!! We have 3 weeks to clear out completely. Thankfully, the Lord has that covered, too. I am working only 24 hours per week, due to a lack of work. That gives me another day at home to get things ready for the move. Thank you, Lord! Of course, all of this is not concrete just yet. We are having our lawyer draw up the rental agreement, which will need to be signed by the moving day. Once we have that, it’s a done deal.

 What does all of this mean? It means that financial support is the ONLY thing between us and Congo, as of April 1st (barring any unforeseen changes). The remaining processes to be completed include getting our visas, a letter of invitation,and purchasing our plane tickets. In the mean time, we will be staying with my mother and step-father, who live about ten minutes from where we are at the moment. The plan is that we are committing to leave for Africa some time during the month of May. Doctor Joe Harvey would really like it if we can be there in May, and it looks like it could really happen. In his mind, I think it is as good as done. With my lack of experience in such things, I see it as a possibility, but not much more. So, it’s time to take a leap of faith (nothing new there!) and commit to going in May, as the Lord provides open doors.

 We are still approximately $1,300 dollars per month short of committed support, but we are trusting that God will move those who He would have support us to make that step.  In addition, we have had several individuals voice a desire to pledge support once we were ready to leave. Dr. Harvey also has stated that he has friends who would be willing to support us when the time came, as well. If you happen to be one of those who has expressed this to us, we will be making phone calls soon, as it is very important for our moving forward to know where we stand. Also, if you have recently sent anything in to Global on our behalf, please send us an e-mail or give us a call to let us know. It takes up to 2 months for information to go through the system and get back to us from the office, so we never know any new developments until they aren’t so new anymore. That especially goes for anyone who is making a decision to pledge anything now. Please contact us so that we can know where we stand. Days count, now.

 God is so good and so faithful! We could never (and would never) have done what we have done without His hands at work in all of this. And yet, it is not Him alone working to get us to join His work in Congo. We cannot thank you enough for all of your prayers and support so far! We thank you in advance for your continued prayers. We can all see the part that the money plays in reaching the lost for The Kingdom, but prayer is worth so much more than money ever could be! Thank you for both. We will continue to keep you updated, though I admit that we will be rather busy for the next three weeks. I promise that I will make my best attempt to update each week, and maybe more often if we get any more news that can’t wait. Thank you for reading all of this; I know it was a long one.

God bless you and keep you!
Until next week…
Yours in Christ,
Art, Danielle & Michael

Prayer Requests:

~ please share our ministry with friends and family, especially with connections to other churches and circles of friends

~ please pray that the Lord would keep filling our needs and raise our support up to the 100% level

~ praise God for bringing us renters for the house!

~ please pray for the people of Kindamba, Rep. of Congo, that the gov’t would allow the hospital to re-open there

~  praise God for His faithfulness in providing all of our needs and keeping us from rushing ahead of His will